Obama seeks meeting with Pope Francis

Jan. 14, 2014
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Secretary of State John Kerry, right, and U.S. Ambassador to the Vatican Ken Francis Hackett, left, tour a section of the Vatican with chief of protocol Monsignor Jose Avelino Bettencour on Jan. 14, 2014. / Pablo Martinez Monsivais, AP

"In a brief visit to the Vatican, Kerry did not meet with Pope Francis, and said he had not expected to.

"However, he described a broad conversation with the pope's chief diplomat, Archbishop Pietro Parolin, that touched on everything ranging from violence in Syria and Africa to ending a generations-long feud between Israel and Palestine and addressing climate change and poverty.

"Kerry is the first American Roman Catholic secretary of State to visit the Vatican since Edmund Muskie more than 30 years ago."